A tropical depression could form this week in the Gulf of Mexico, hurricane forecasters said in their Monday morning (Sept. 10) update. The system is expected to head for Mexico and Texas.

As of 7 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said the disturbance was over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and western Cuba. It's expected to move slowly northwest across the Caribbean during the next few days.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service's Slidell office said the system could reach the Texas coast Friday or Saturday. It's not expected to affect New Orleans, but forecasters said it could impact southwest Louisiana and the western coastal waters.

The National Hurricane Center's five-day forecast map for Monday morning shows a large area in the Gulf, from the Yucatan Peninsula to the Texas coast, where a tropical depression could form. That area, shaded in orange, is not a forecast track, which is normally issued when the storm strengthens or is about to strengthen to a depression.

A tropical depression has a 40 percent chance of forming in the Gulf in the Mexico in the next five days. This map from the National Hurricane Center shows where the system could develop. (Image via NOAA)Carlie Kollath Wells

Showers and thunderstorms with the weak surface trough remain unorganized as of 7 a.m., but forecasters said slow development is possible. A tropical depression could form late this week when the system moves across the western Gulf of Mexico, the update said.

It has a low chance (10 percent) of developing into at least a tropical depression within 48 hours and a medium chance (40 percent) of developing within five days.

If it strengthens to a tropical storm, it most likely will be named Joyce. The National Hurricane Center currently is tracking five disturbances, including Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Isaac.